One in a Thousand
by xXIllusionFoxXx
Summary: When the Pokemon world is in danger of being frozen over forever, who will answer the call? A lot of humans actually. But only one in a thousand will have what it takes to save the world.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! This is the prologue of my new fanfic, One in a Thousand. I'm sure you knew that though, considering you were the one who clicked on this story in the first place. I hope you enjoy it, and if you see any spaces missing, that's because my spacebar has been acting up. Sorry.**

 **LET'S GO!**

* * *

I looked at the cake in front of me with a mixture of awe and trepidation. The thing was three layers tall, and printed along the sides of the circular cake was a faithful recreation of Super Mario Brothers 1-1. I loved how it looked, but wanted to eat it so badly. The classic dilemma raced through my head, _How can I keep this cake and eat it too?_ I chuckled at my own bad joke.

My parents gestured for me to blow out the candles, sixteen little things placed at various points on the cake. It would be tough, but I knew that I could get them all in one breath. I closed my eyes, thought of what I wanted, and took one of the deepest breaths of my life. Without hesitation, I let the breath out to aim at each of the candles on the cake, only stopping for a moment on each one so I would have enough breath for all of them. After I ran out of breath, I opened my eyes, to see if I had done it. A quick inspection of the cake revealed that all of the candles had been put out. I gave my Dad a high five, and we both laughed.

After that, I decided to open my presents before we would eat the cake. I got some pretty standard stuff, a new video game, a couple packs of pokemon cards, nothing too special. But, something very cool I got was new pair of headphones, not like Beats or anything, but still pretty sweet. The rest of the birthday was pretty standard. We ate some cake, took some pictures, and eventually, it was eleven o'clock. Normally I don't go to bed at eleven, but I was really tired after the party. I was out pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

I knew the second I stood up that I was dreaming. This normally wouldn't be a problem, except that I'd never had a lucid dream before. I was in some sort of room made out of clouds, circular, and about thirty feet across. In the center of the room was a pool of water, about ten feet across, and still as glass. I couldn't tell how deep it was, because it near perfectly reflected the ceiling above. Being the only thing of any interest in the room, I naturally decided to approach it.

I walked up to the pool, and looked inside. Staring back at me, instead of my reflection, was a charcoal grey fox, with red fur on the tips of its paws and the tuft of hair on its head. It wore the same headphones I had just received today around its neck. I was very confused, _Why is my reflection a Zorua?_ I thought to myself. Just to confirm, I gave a quick glance at myself. I still had legs, hands, and all other indicators that I was indeed, still human. Another glance at the reflection revealed that it was copying my movements, or as close as possible for an animal on four legs.

For some reason, I felt the need to reach out and touch the pool, but before I could, a huge tremor shook the floor I was standing on. _A cloud-quake? Clouds don't get earthquakes._ I thought to myself. As if to spite me, the clouds shook even harder, until, with a rip that sounded vaguely like a plushie being ripped in half, the clouds gave out beneath me, and I fell into the sky below. I fell for only a second before I blacked out.

* * *

In the land far below, a lone Eevee strolled through the twilight on her way home. She was humming a little song to herself, when she heard, far off in the distance, the sound of something ripping. She looked east, and saw a bright ball of light, directly below a huge column of clouds. The ball of light was growing in intensity by the second, and the Eevee quickly realized that it was headed toward the ground, probably somewhere near her. She quickly took cover behind some conveniently placed rocks along the road. After a minute, the ground shook very heavily as the thing hit the ground somewhere nearby. Without hesitating, she ran off toward the smoke that was already rising from the forest.

 _It isn't often that you get to see a meteor up close,_ She thought as she ran.

* * *

I woke up feeling sore all over. I thought nothing of it at first, I often woke up being sore, due to sleeping funny, but something was different this time. Instead of the dull ache that comes with sleeping funny, I felt like I had just gone three rounds with John Cena, Mike Tyson, and a grizzly bear wearing a top hat (don't ask) all at the same time. I groaned, but it hurt to do even that simple action.

"Hey, are you okay?" I heard a female voice that I didn't recognize.

The voice snapped me out of my train of thought, and made me realize two very important things. Firstly, I could remember every little detail of the dream I just had. Secondly, I was lying in dirt. Like the kind that you only find outside, that kind of dirt. _How could I have gotten outside?_ I wondered. But before I could think about it any more, The girl spoke up again.

"Hey! Are you alive?"

I groaned in response.

"Here, eat this."

With only that as a warning, she shoved some sort of fruit in my mouth. It was a little larger than a grape, but not by much. Not being in much of a mood to argue, I chewed up the fruit, and swallowed. The fruit tasted vaguely like blueberries mixed with lemons and something a little bit bitter. However, the combination tasted pretty good. Within seconds of swallowing the fruit, the soreness started to dissipate. Within thirty, I was feeling completely fine.

"There you go! Good as new!" The girl exclaimed.

And she was right. I didn't feel sore anymore. "Thanks, I feel a lot better now." Feeling much better, I blinked my eyes open, wincing a bit. The shape in front of me cleared from fuzzy shadow to….

 _Wait, what?_

That couldn't be right. The thing in front of me...was an Eevee. A brown and fluffy, long-eared, definitely alive Eevee.

The Eevee tilted its head. "How did you end up on that star anyway?" she said. "Zorua aren't very common around here either."

 _Zorua?_ I thought to myself. _I'm not a Zorua._

Puzzled, I looked down, expecting to see skin and fingers. However, where there _should_ have been my hand, there was a paw. A red-furred paw.

My brain shut down. I wiggled my hand, and the paw wiggled. Feeling slightly panicked, I tried to stand up, only to fall to the on my ha- _paws_ with a bump. Now slightly hysterical, I twisted around. Black fur ruffed with blacker fur and a fluffy black tail. Again, I tried to stand, only for my body to remind me-painfully- that my spine didn't bend that way. Barely holding back a squeal, I reached a paw to my face and bumped into my nose, which was way longer than it should have been.

I looked at the Eevee. "What happened to me?" I shouted, clawing at the ground. "WHY AM I A ZORUA!?"

The Eevee cowered. "You look like a plain old Zorua to me," she offered meekly.

"But I'm not a Zorua! At least, I'm not supposed to be. I should be a human." I blurted out, trying to calm down from my previous outburst.

"A human?" She yelped, suddenly right in my face.

"Gah! Um...Yes? You believe me?" I replied stepping back from her, trying to get some space.

"Of course! It's the only explanation. First, you fell from the sky, second, you lived, and finally, you have that weird thing around your neck." She said with one breath.

At the mention of a weird thing around my neck, I took a look at whatever it was. A quick glance revealed the same pair of headphones that I had recieved for my birthday, resized to fit my new body. _Of all the things to keep, why these?_ I thought to myself.

"Hello?" the Eevee said while waving a paw in front of my face. "You zoned out for a second."

"Just thinking." I replied automatically. "What's your name?"

"My name's Marisu! What's yours?" She said, extending a paw for me to shake.

"I'm Max. Thanks for giving me that berry."

"It's no problem, Oran berries aren't exactly rare." She giggled, then her smile dropped "It's getting late. It's not safe out here in the dark. You can come stay at my place."

"Thanks. Lead the way." I gestured toward her with my paw.

She nodded, and walked to exit the clearing. I followed her, learning that if I didn't think too hard, my body knew how to walk already. And so I, now turned into a Zorua, followed Marisu, my new friend who was an Eevee, into the woods.

Pretty crazy, right?


	2. Chapter 1

**Welcome once again, everyone. This is the part of the story where things actually start to happen, so that's cool. If you liked or didn't like the chapter, feel free to leave me a review to tell me what I did right and wrong. They're really helpful.**

 **IT BEGINS!**

By the time we had reached Marisu's home, the sun had completely disappeared behind the horizon. The full moon had come out to take its place, causing moonlight to filter beautifully through the canopy. Soon, the trees started to clear out, leaving a barren cliffside in our path. Hundreds of feet below, the moon reflected off of the ocean's surface, giving the illusion of there being two moons. All considered, it was a beautiful trip.

"All right, here we are." Marisu stated, letting the bag she had been carrying on her back fall to the ground.

"What? Where is it?" I questioned, confused.

Marisu didn't reply, and instead walked up to the only bush on the cliff, grabbed it in her mouth, and pulled it aside. Moving the bush had revealed a stairway that descended into the ground.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed in awe.

"Pretty sweet, huh? I can't take credit for it though; I paid a Dugtrio to come dig out the stairs. But, the cave underneath is all natural." She said with pride in her voice.

"Pretty sweet is right." I chuckled, before grabbing Marisu's bag in my mouth. I then followed her down the stairs.

We descended into the ground before exiting the stairs into a large open room. Taking up the entire left wall was a natural opening in the cliffside, through which the moon could be seen perfectly framed by stalagmites and stalactites. On the right wall were many wooden shelves, holding all sorts of items. Against the back wall, a crack in the stone dribbled clear water into a small collection pool. Near the back wall, but closer to the center, were a few piles of hay, probably beds. I was awestruck at how cool the place was!

"You live here? This is so awesome!" I exclaimed, running off to see if there was anything else in the room that wasn't immediately obvious.

Marisu simply giggled in response, and walked over to the piles of hay. She chose the one on the left, and after a moment of re-arranging it, she laid down on top of it.

"You should probably go to sleep," she yawned, "We have a big day tomorrow."

I decided to listen to her advice, and walked up to the second bed. I cocked my head to one side, confused at how to make this pile of hay into a sleepable bed. I tried to copy what Marisu had done, but the hay just wouldn't stay where I wanted it to. I groaned in frustration and just flopped down on top of the pile.

Marisu giggled, and I gave her my best 'I'm not amused' face. After that I just rolled over and went to sleep.

I woke up to Marisu poking me in the face.

"Wake up, sleepy head!"

"Five more minutes…"

"Nope! I already let you sleep an hour past dawn, and I'm way too bored to just sit here and watch you sleep."

I groaned and rolled off the bed pile. I stood up and adjusted my headphones around my neck. Then, without warning, my stomach let out huge growl. I blushed, and looked at Marisu with a look that said 'can I have some food?' Marisu took my hint and walked over to one of the shelves. She moved a couple things around, and pulled out what seemed to be a gigantic apple. The thing must have been the size of a basketball and, given my smaller size, was nearly as big as me!

"You're drooling." Marisu stated, trying to hold back a laugh.

I stopped only to wipe the drool from my mouth before grabbing the huge apple from her paws. I then reached forward and took a bite, albeit a little awkwardly with my new mouth.

To say this apple was amazing would have been the understatement of the century. The instant I bit down, juice exploded into my mouth, sweeter and tarter than any apple I had ever tasted. It was crisp and crunchy and absolutely _delicious._ I went for another bite…

"Greetings from Apple World!" Someone yelled from my apple. I yelped and dropped the apple back on the ground. Out from the fruit crawled a little worm-like creature that I recognised instantly. _Weedle._

The little thing was laughing its head off, but before I could squash the offending creature, Marisu spoke up.

"Prince, what have I told you about popping out of apples and scaring pokemon?"

The Weedle, apparently called Prince, looked down, embarrassed. "That it's not okay, and I shouldn't do it."

"Does your mom know you're here?"

"No. I snuck away from Guard 27, and came to say hi. When I saw you had a friend over, I just had to scare him."

Marisu sighed in exasperation, obviously this was a common occurrence. "Okay, now go back to your escort, you know how your mom gets when you sneak off."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going." Prince said, his good mood having vanished like shaving cream under hot water. The weedle then crawled up the stairs and out of sight.

Normally, I would have thrown out the apple, since there was a worm in it, but I was way too hungry to care. I devoured the whole thing in under a minute.

"So, what is so important today that you couldn't let me sleep in?"

Marisu looked at me with a terrifying look in her eyes. "I'm glad you asked!"

I gulped.

"You see," she said, settling down on the floor, "you're not the first human to come here."

I gawked. "I'm not?"

Marisu shook her head. "At least, not according to the stories. These stories are all very different- but they share one thing in common. The humans have always appeared in a time of need."

The Eevee got up and started pacing. "Since you're here, and you're human, then logic states that something bad is going to happen. SO-" She stopped and turned, drawing herself up to her full height- "I say we form a rescue team."

"A rescue team?" I questioned.

"A rescue team is a group of pokemon that save pokemon lost or hurt in Mystery Dungeons." I opened my mouth to ask what the heck Mystery Dungeons were, but Marisu held up a paw. "Don't ask; I'll explain later. We're going to go through the forest to sign up as a rescue team in Port Town. It's only about an hour away from here."

Great. I hate walking.

We packed up quickly. Marisu grabbed a small variety of berries and put them into her bag, slinging it over her back before we set out. The sun was just rising as we began our march. The forest quickly grew dark though, because of the thick canopy, but I could still see just as well as in bright sunlight. I was confused for a moment, until I remembered that Zoruas were known for being able to see well in the dark. Marisu was trying to lead, but she was squinting very hard, and obviously couldn't see very well.

"Hey, do you want me to lead? I can see just fine in the dark." I offered.

"Yeah, that would probably be for the best. Just stick to the path and we won't get lost." She said, obviously relieved that she would not have to strain her eyes so hard.

I followed the path for about twenty minutes before something came flying out of the trees above. "Look out!" I yelled to Marisu, before jumping out of the way of the pokemon.

I looked back at the pokemon that had flown out of the trees, and saw a Beedrill. It didn't seem interested in attacking us though, and instead flew right up to Marisu.

"27? Is that you?" Marisu asked.

"Yes, Marisu. Have you seen Prince? I was supposed to be guarding him, but he has escaped my sight once again."

"But I sent him back to you when he showed up at my den this morning. You haven't seen him since then?"

"Nay! If you have sent him to me, but I have not seen him, then he could be in danger! Come! We must find him, posthaste!" 27 exclaimed, before charging off into the woods.

Marisu looked at me for a moment before stating, "I think I know where Prince went. Follow me!" Then she dashed off into the forest.

"What is it with you pokemon and just running off without talking first?" I groaned before chasing after Marisu and 27.

I followed Marisu through the forest for a minute or so, running at full speed. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Zoruas have a lot more stamina than humans, so even running at full tilt, I could keep up that pace for awhile. I was thinking about my newfound stamina, so when Marisu stopped, I didn't notice in time, and was about to crash into her. Marisu saw me headed for her though, and simply sidestepped, allowing me to fall flat on my face.

I groaned as I stood back up. "Are we there now?" I asked Marisu.

"Yep. Here it is." She said gesturing to a set of extremely out of place stairs, which descended into what seemed like pure darkness.

"What the heck is a set of stairs doing in the middle of a forest?" I said, very confused.

"This is one of those Mystery Dungeons I was telling you about," Marisu said enthusiastically. " Inside a Mystery Dungeon, the normal laws of reality don't really apply. Each dungeon has a certain number of floors that you have to clear to get through them, but each floor is completely different each time you enter the dungeon. This dungeon is called Tiny Woods, just three floors. Perfect for a low level Weedle looking to get stronger."

"Oh, you think he went in here to train?" I said, understanding her meaning.

"Yep, now let's go!" She said bounding down the stairs. I quickly followed after her.

We descended into darkness, and for a moment I saw a set of words appear in front of me:

 **Tiny Woods**

 **BF1**

I laughed at the absurdity of the words, before I reached the bottom of the stairs. I blinked from the extremely bright light, and found myself in the middle of an open room. Somehow, the stairs had vanished behind me, and there was no sign of them ever being there. I raised a paw to ask Marisu where the stairs had gone, but she gave me a look that said 'don't even bother'.

"Welcome to your first Mystery Dungeon! As you can plainly see, these places are super weird. These dungeons usually appear near a place of importance, but there's nothing too special about Tiny Woods. Before we go any further, I need to teach you how to use an attack. The pokemon here might be weak, but if you can't attack, they'll beat you easily."

Then she turned to me, and held up a paw. Squinting her eyes in concentration, she lashed out with it across the floor. Instantly, there was a cracking sound, and four long gouges appeared in the dirt. Marisu looked back at me, grinning.

"That was Scratch. Most weak pokemon can use it, especially if they have claws. I know that Zoruas can use it, so give it a shot. Just swipe with your paw, like this." She repeated the swipe in slow-motion.

I copied Marisu's move, and got a very similar result, albeit a bit weaker.

"There you go!" she said patting me on the back. "We should be good to fight anything we find in this dungeon." And then she started off toward the one exit to the room.

We walked up to the exit, and saw that it was very small. We would have to go single file through the corridor.

"Just follow me." She stated before walking into the corridor. I followed behind her, and soon we had reached the next room. Inside the room was a set of stairs perfectly identical to the ones that had let us in the dungeon, and standing near the stairs was a Sunkern. It noticed us as soon as we entered the room, and made its way toward us a quickly as it could.

"It wants to fight, Max! We're going to have to fight it." She said, a determined look in her eyes.

I nodded and turned to face the little thing, ready to fight it as soon as it reached us. After another moment it was within Scratch range.

"Now!" Marisu exclaimed, bringing her paw down on the Sunkern. I quickly followed suit, and also used Scratch on it.

The poor thing didn't stand a chance, and dropped almost instantly. After it had fainted, it was surrounded in a golden light, and then vanished.

"Don't worry, it just got sent to the entrance." She said, relieving my fears that I had just killed a pokmon.

After that, we walked down the stairs again. Once again, the strange words appeared in the blackness, except instead of 'BF1' it read 'BF2'. We then entered the next floor. It was very similar to the first, with a large room that had one exit. We walked through the exit into the next room, and were faced with two Sunkerns instead of one. We still made quick work of them, but they managed to land a couple of hits on Marisu and I. We then went to the next room and found the stairs, before we descended them.

This time something was a little different, The same floor change appeared, reading 'BF3', but after that we entered a smaller room. In the center of the room were three Bellsprout, who had surrounded a single Weedle.

"Prince!" Marisu exclaimed, before covering her mouth with her paws, realising that she had cost us the element of surprise.

The Bellsprouts turned around and whipped their vines at the ground menacingly.

"Max, we gotta beat these guys to save Prince!"

"Got it, let's go!" I yelled dashing towards the nearest Bellsprout.

The plant Pokemon lashed out with a vine that I only just managed to jump over. Giving a wild yell (maybe it was cliche, but who cares? It felt awesome!) I lashed out at it with a paw, slashing it right across the head. With a warbling cry of ' _Bellsprooooouuuut!'_ it flew back and...disappeared.

I whirled to face Marisu, who was locked in a vicious tussle with her own Bellsprout. "Got it!" I yelled.

The Eevee managed to slash the Bellsprout across the chest (stem?). It gurgled out a cry before falling over and vanishing like the first one.

The moment of watching had cost me dearly- I felt something land a stinging lash across my back. Yelping in pain, I slammed into the ground, rolling over to see the last Bellsprout standing over me gloatingly. It lifted a vine- no doubt to finish me off-

Only to freeze awkwardly, before slumping over and vanishing. Behind it, horn pointed straight where it had been a second before, was Prince. He didn't have a visible mouth, but I'm sure it was in a gloating smile.

I stood up, and dusted myself off. "Thanks, Prince. That thing definitely would have knocked me out if you hadn't stepped in."

"No problem," squeaked the Weedle. "I definitely wouldn't have been able to beat them without your help."

"Okay, you two. We should probably get back out to 27 now." Marisu stated before heading for the stairs.

We quickly followed her back up the stairs, and in a moment we had reached the entrance to the dungeon again. Which was strange because we had gone down three floors, but only back up one. _Mystery Dungeons are weird, and can't be explained easily._ I told myself.

Outside, 27 was waiting for us, and as soon as he noticed Prince, he picked up the Weedle. "Thank you, my friends. I would not have found him without you."

"Bye guys!" Prince exclaimed before he and 27 flew off, probably returning to their hive.

"Okay, Max. Let's head off toward Port Town now." She said turning and began walking along the path again.

I sighed, and followed after her. _This is gonna be a long day, Isn't it?_


End file.
